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As we move into a new year thoughts often turn to bettering yourself - a new year new you senario, you make plans to go to the gym more; complete dry January (we've made it!) or take up a new hobby, but the same is often not the case for businesses. We are not experts in psychology so couldn't explain this but we are experts in data centres and critical environments, and especially how to optimise them. So today we are looking at auditing and how it can help inform and contribute to a wider plan to improve or develop parts of your business!

At Keysource we have an independent expert team of auditors that specialise in critical facilities and environments. We believe this is a natural fit with the consultancy part of our business which covers all aspects of data centre design, build and management, in addition to niche areas such as safety, health, environment and compliance.

Auditing is a great way to test the reliability, resilience, efficiency and effectiveness of the policies, systems and procedures in any business. This is particularly important in critical environment arena and can form the basis for major business decisions moving forward.

An external audit will enable you to identify gaps and recognise improvement opportunities which can have a fundamental effect on the development of your business. It will also give you the data to be able to convince other organisations that you are a suitable partner for them or to lobby for additional resources. Findings can also help you to address specific issues, build and deliver business cases and form the basis of strategic planning.

Unlike many companies undertaking audits at Keysource we are less focussed on the actual report itself, and more interested in the results and how to address and/or maximise the findings. That said we do follow certain standard procedures for every audit we do, such as establishing the right team of auditors and ensuring each member possesses the relevant technical experience, skill-set, knowledge and experience to help you gain maximum benefit and insight.

However after that the audit is entirely bespoke and can be aligned with any specific circumstances and objectives. It might include reviewing opportunities for improvement, gap analysis, potential legal compliance risk, good practices and agreed follow up plans. These will be discussed during a closing meeting and developed and implemented with additional support if necessary.

To maintain further impartiality and transparency the audit team is always led by a lead auditor who is a member of IRCA (International Register of Certificated Auditors). The lead auditor ensures that the audit process aligns with the three main dimensions to auditing; Intent, Implementation and Effectiveness.

We have been an approved official auditor for the DCA Data Centre Certification Scheme since 2014 which verifies facilities’ compliance and provides greater clarity for buyers and specifiers. It identifies and verifies four key areas of a facility, namely resilience, physical site security, energy efficiency credentials, and operational professionalism.

As Marketing Manager for Keysource, Laurence is responsible for our MarComms function, both in UK and internationally. Translating the business objectives into both a longer-term strategy and an annual tactical plan, Laurence manages the delivery of all our marketing activities.

Keysource is part of Extentia Group, a group of specialist companies dedicated to every facet of the built environment; market leaders in our respective fields, together we deliver joined-up thinking to develop long-term property strategies that drive productivity and enhance business performance.